2013-11-22 - Aliens meeting above Earth
For the alien ship captain, Dor'Rain, this is a perplexing conundrum. Not that a Kryptonian was alive, but the fact that the being was able to survive in space with out a space suit. Still having learned who Superman was, Dor'rain had chosen to accept the talk with the Man of steel. So after some research he had chosen to approach the man of steel. The Large vessel is still cloaked. The planet is primitive and given recent issues with not native life forms... stealth and hiding is the best option. Finally Superman could see a white light of a cargo bay opening up showing a greenish forcefield containing the atmosphere inside. The invitation is sent. Now it is just for the guest to accept the invitation. Superman was contacted by Green Lantern about the cloaked ship in Earth's orbit. Since Kyle had told him that the being inside posed no threat to Earth, he had accepted the invitation to talk with him. In a matter of seconds, he is in low orbit and when he sees the door, he moves towards it. Stepping inside, he takes a moment to look around before making his way towards the bridge. As the Ship closes the cargo bay door, a number of scans are taken, if only as a standard precaution. The Cargo bay is mostly empty, a few crates locked down. But for the most part the ship is empty. When the outer door seals, A voice over the comm says in Krypotonese, "Welcome Aboard Kal-el of Krypton." Finally as the cargo doors open up Dor'rain is there, in his battle armor, but not armed. The Being is very wolflike. "Welcome Aboard the Devastator. Forgive my use of a translator, but I can not physically speak Kryptonese." Superman smiles faintly. "Captain Dor'rain. You do me an honor by addressing me in my native tongue, but it is not necessary. I speak the language of your people already." He switches over to Dor'rain's native language. "I'm familiar with your species. Welcome to my adoptive homeworld of Earth. How can I help you?" Dor'rain does laugh softly at the accent Kal-el has. "I have a meal prepared in the messhall. Food replicators allow me to replicate the food of any meal scanned. There were plenty of Kryptonian Dishes known to my people. As for helping me... Tell me, What has become of Brainiac? Did... you succeed in destroying him utterly." He sounds hopeful, hoping that he can put the demon behind him, and focus on something else his search for his people. Dor'rain offers to lead Kal-El, to the mess hall of the empty ship. Superman inclines his head to the Captain and clasps his hands behind his back as he walks with him towards the mess hall. "It has been some time since I've had a traditional Kryptonian meal. I thank you." He shakes his head faintly. "I wasn't successful in completely destroying him. Though I did stop his reign of terror here on Earth. Brainiac is crafty as he is evil. I'm sure he downloaded himself into something and is only biding his time until he is strong enough to strike again." Leading Kal-El to the mess hall he will inhale the scents of the food. "Well then, this should be a treat for you. Indeed, Brainiac has to be stopped, once and for all. Otherwise countless billions will perish on his mad quests." Dor'Rain smiles as he sits down and then asks, "Would you prefer the environmental settings to be that of your native planet?" He asks, having only done a light examination of Superman's public file before he showed up. "Tell me, the Database of his ship... did you uncover any information of the Cities he captured. I have heard wild reports ranging from him... turning the inhabitants into robots, to digital patterns, to shrinking the Cities down. He took the Capitol of my world." Superman shakes his head quickly. "That won't be necessary, but thank you." The red sun of krypton would cut his powers in half, though not immediately. He wasn't comfortable with that. "He did the same thing to you that he did to us. He shrank your capitol city of So'Karic. I've visited there a few times thanks to a machine. I have it stored in a safe place until I figure out how to return it to normal size. He did the same thing to the city of Kandor, from my homeworld." As Superman explains the name of the Capitol, at first he thought he learned it from Green Lantern, but then... When Superman says he has the City. "They LIVE?" He almost shouts. One of the glasses in his hand is actually broken due to the shock and him breaking it in his hand. "The inhabitants... My Family.... They were in So'Karic... when the City was taken." The wolf like being stares at Superman, as if expecting this is some sort of cruel and twisted joke... "Are they...." Superman turns and places a soft hand on his shoulder. "They live. And as far as I can tell the inhabitants are safe. Aside from the miniaturization, they are as they once were. If you like, I can take you to visit them." He smiles. "I know what it's like to loose everything..your family and friends." The idea of seeing his family again... "Please. It... would mean much." Dor'Rain seems to have some hope. "For a while... I thought other then the last fleet I would be alone. With the only think I have left is the desire to Kill Brainiac once and for all." As Dor'Rain comes to his senses and then moves to sit down, "Come at least enjoy your native food. It's as a small thanks I can give you for protecting what remains of my planet. Now... the only thing is to find the lost fleet, and rally them to a staging point." Superman sits down after sweeping his cape to the side. He tastes the food and smiles. "This is good." He comments before saying. "Brainiac can be extremely elusive. It may be some time before he shows his face again. In the meantime, what will you do? Stay on Earth...or continue to remain secluded here on this ship?" He pauses. "I know that your people have Casts. I believe that you're of the..technological caste, correct? You should take the opportunity to study Earth's culture. I'm sure when you reunite with your people, they will want to know all about the planet their city is on currently?" As Dor'Rain smiles and seems to favor the Meats of the Krypton dishes, Superman would know his people are mainly carnivores. "I have been giving that some thought. The correct term is Worker caste. The three castes are Warrior, our military, Worker which handles things like engineering and ship construction. Then Science which also includes our... religious branches. I was born into the Warrior caste, by my calling was Worker." "I fear you are right, He will not surface for a while. And he all but slaughtered our fleets. To go against him with out a massive force behind me... suicide. So my First call of Duty is to relocate the ships that are hiding. I had thought of using Earth as a home base. There are a number of materials on the planet that can be used in repairing, or upgrading the Devastator. And in exchange I would be honor bound to help assist in defending against... non planetary hazards. Such as the Asteroid I altered the course of. It actually would have impacted on it's second pass." Superman looks thoughtful. "You'd want to relocate your ships here? The people of Earth may be..concerned if you did that. However, I can put you in touch with some people on the planet that would need to know about such a thing. I'm only a citizen here, not it's ruler. Earth is made of of dozens of governments and territories." He smiles. "My cousin Kara would be interested in your science caste. She was in the science guild back home on Krypton." "Staging point for gathering. As for permanent Relocation, I would need to search out a place for eventual Colonization." As he thinks, "the problem with having so many ships would be dangerous. The humans are still frighten over something as simply as their evolution. Although given the nature of their... evolved forms and the variety of their abilities. I understand the fear at least. No If my people did relocate here, we would be obliged to share our technology, and for a species as young as humans? No they should not be out among the stars for many hundreds... if not thousands of years. At least until they can act like they know how to behave." "Perhaps she could come with me when I visit home..." Superman smiles. "I think she would like that." He continues to eat while speaking in a conversational tone. "I can't help but agree with you. It's the reason why I haven't shared much kryptonian technology with humans. There are a couple who can handle the responsibility, but as a whole? No. There's too much in-fighting already, and as you say, they are unable to come together as one people, still wanting to separate from each other due to race and origin." He shakes his head slowly. "There are people though, that wish to change that. I hope that someday, they are successful." He is talking of Professor Xavier and the X-Men. "Indeed. It would be like handing an infant a loaded weapon, when they know just enough to use it. They have potential, perhaps potential enough to become masters of the universe. For good or ill you can only serve as an example to them. I have been following your history on the planet, some of your feats. Very impressive." Dor'Rain says and thinks. "perhaps I will live long enough to see them take into the stars. My people have very long lives compared to the average human." Superman nods. "As do mine." He pauses. "At least here under the yellow sun. I also wish to see them succeed. I have lived among them for so long now, like I said earlier, Earth is my adoptive homeworld now. I protect it, along with others. It may seem like a strange place to you now, but perhaps someday, you will come to think of it fondly as I do." "Perhaps. There is enough here to make the Science caste puzzle and contemplate it for centuries. I have noticed that they are having issues dealing with some sicknesses, One called Cancer, another this HIV/AIDS sickness. If I am to use this world as a Home Base, One should at least... how do the humans say... Pay the piper?" Superman spreads his hands. "I've found it best to let them figure things out on their own. If they're handed the answers to their own problems, it will stunt their growth as a people in the long run. They thrive the best when there is strife, and they overcome when the chips are down. They refer to it as the 'human spirit'. I have the means to cure cancer, to make them free from all diseases. But again..they are not ready for such things." "Indeed, yes. A problem my people learned the hard way once, but as you said it slows them down. Still the occasional push in the right direction doesn't hurt." As Dor'Rain seems to regard this man with some respect. The technology they discovered to cure these sicknesses, will aid them in combating illnesses they do start exploring space." Dor'Rain explains and then finally he will asks, "When would it be possible to visit So'Karic, and for how long?" he asks unsure how this... shrink ray works. If I could take a look at it, I might be able to refine it enough to make it reverse the changes... Technology and it's problems is something I have a talent with solving." Superman leans back in his chair. "I recently re-settled Kandor in another star system. You have to understand that to enlarge the city on Earth is something I can't allow. For now, the machine shrinks you for a few hours before you return to your normal size. But if you can figure it out and relocate your people, then by all means do so." "I wasn't referring to settling it on earth. While we are not war hungry. My people are as aggressive as humans are in expansion. No, we need our own planet. Preferably one that has large animals for hunting." Dor'Rain smiles as he thinks fondle of the hunts he had as a cub. "If you would like... I could help install one of the food replicators in one of your strong holds. It can't replicate more then food. But as long as it has carbon based materials to consume and a power supply. It could produce any food it can scan." Superman smiles. "That's kind of you. I would appreciate that." He wipes his mouth with a napkin before he stands up. "I should be going. I don't like staying away from the planet for long periods." He was very dedicated to his work, to the point that it seemed that he never took a break. Though with the other heroes on Earth, he doesn't have to work as hard. "Thank you for your hospitality Captain. When you're ready to visit your people, send me a message." AS he thinks and asks, "I assume that anything I take with me, will also return to normal size after a few hours. So anything I take will need to be data. Perhaps tomorrow. Oh... if you know of people I should seek out as allies... this ship gets... lonely. And I would prefer not to search the cosmos alone for my people.